This group focused more exclusively on what teams are doing purely on the prevention side of addressing hackers more so than any remediation tactics. Although prevention is a very difficult task in this age and seems to use up more and more resources, it is not something that security teams should ever give up on. To start, the group discussed exactly what kind of data is being protected—this can vary between various organizations and sectors, as they focus on different areas. But identifying this data is extremely important in order to focus resources on protecting it. Teams also need to know where that data is and where it is going, which is a challenge in an age of mobile devices and the Internet of Things. Antiquated processes can lead to data slipping through more modernized cracks in the system.
The next portion of the discussion focused on programs that can protect this data. Encryption was mentioned first, but the group agreed that encrypting every piece of information is highly impractical and can break a lot of other tools needed for a system to function. They also mentioned Data Rights Management (DRM) tools. Some members agreed that if they can get a strong DRM system in place, they do not have to concentrate as many resources on where it goes because those with insufficient privileges will not be able to access it. They also noted that shortening the duration of access that third party vendors have to the data can prevent unauthorized access, as they cannot accumulate that sensitive information over time. According to this discussion, the right tools can get the job done regarding protecting data, but only if utilized in an efficient strategy that ties up as many loose ends as possible.